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56 BARCLAYS Premier League lead- ers Chelsea returned to winning ways with a 2-0 victory over 10- man Hull at Stamford Bridge. Eden Hazard put the Blues ahead with his eighth goal of the sea- son before Tom Huddlestone was dismissed for a reckless studs-up challenge on Filipe Luis. Diego Costa scored his first goal in five games to seal the win, which comes a week after Chelsea lost their unbeaten record at Newcas- tle. Olivier Giroud and Santi Cazorla both scored twice as Arsenal closed back up on the top four with a 4-1 win over Newcastle at the Emirates Stadium in the late game. The recent antagonism directed towards the club's manager also looked to have died a death as sup- porters chanted "There's only one Arsene Wenger" in support of the Frenchman. Arsenal maintained momentum from the midweek 4-1 Champions League win over Galatasaray in Is- tanbul to see off the challenge of Alan Pardew's men, who last week- end inf licted a first defeat of the season on Chelsea. Jose Mourinho's men remain three points clear of Manchester City, who beat Leicester 1-0 thanks to Frank Lampard's 175th Premier League goal. Manuel Pellegrini spoke this week about his desire to extend Lamp- ard's loan deal with the champions and he delivered his manager three points at the King Power Stadium after turning home Samir Nasri's cross from close range. The goal means Lampard is now the joint-fourth highest scorer in Premier League history alongside Thierry Henry. Craig Gardner came back to haunt his old club Aston Villa as West Brom came out 1-0 to the good in the West Midlands derby at the Hawthorns. Gardner, who spent five seasons at Villa, scored a 72nd minute-win- ner to ease the pressure on Baggies boss Alan Irvine. Burnley hauled themselves out of the bottom three with a vital 1-0 win over Southampton at the Turf Moor. Burnley goalkeeper Tom Heaton saved Dusan Tadic's penalty on the hour and 12 minutes later Ashley Barnes converted Danny Ings' pass to move the Clarets up to 17th in the table. At the Stadium of Light West Ham's Stewart Downing scored his third goal of the season to deny Sunderland a crucial victory. The Black Cats had gone ahead through a Jordi Gomez penalty, but Downing equalised in the 29th minute to leave the scores level at 1-1. In the other fixture of the day Peter Crouch cancelled out James McArthur's opener as Stoke drew 1-1 with Crystal Palace at Selhurst Park. maltatoday, SUNDAY, 14 DECEMBER 2014 Sport FOOTBALL Red Devils out to make it six in a row over struggling rivals BRENDAN Rodgers portrays the image of a man in despair, misera- ble as Liverpool's form this season. Just seven months ago he was be- ing hailed as the Barclay's Premier League's next big manager, the man who revived Liverpool after years of lurking in the shadows of their greatest rivals. Tactically he was marvellous last season; clever, inno- vative and being able to tweak and change his formation according to the demands of each match. Returning to the Champions League and being contenders once more entering a new season, it may very well seem that Brendan Rodg- er's bubble has burst long before being able to have another go at the title. With some of the Liverpool ex-players indicating he faces the sack, it is hard to really predict the faith of a manager who was so close to handing the long awaited trophy to the scousers. Whatever the reason; whether the departure of Luis Suarez or the in- jury suffered by Daniel Sturridge, it is a certain fact that Rodgers is un- der serious scrutiny. So has Rodg- ers lost the plot? Has he become an average manager in the space of a few months? Indeed he may not look like the bright young manager in the country, but it is an eventual- ity that should Liverpool stick with him, Rodgers will find a solution and kick start a recovery. On the other hand it seems that Man United have forgotten all about last year's disastrous cam- paign and a poor start to the cur- rent campaign. They are now playing unattractively and winning ugly jumping up to third place in the table. Furthermore Louis Van Gaal will again be given money to spend in the January transfer win- dow, meaning Man United will be trying to push for a title challenge particularly if their defensive leaks are addressed. Swansea Vs Spurs (Today, 17:00, Liberty Stadium) Tottenham's form this season has been inconsistent to say the least and it is hard to say what to expect from them coming in against the swans. Looking at the lack of form other teams competing with Tot- tenham for a place in Europe are having, this season should have been the perfect opportunity for the Spurs to finally make it back in the Champions League. On the other hand Gary Monk is doing a remarkable job at Swansea and must certainly be applauded for his team's current form where his team have won an impressive 17 points out of 22 when playing at the Liberty stadium. The Swans enter today's game having won four of their last six matches, losing to Manchester City and West Ham last weekend. Diego Costa back on target as Chelsea defeat 10-man Hull A review of Saturday's action in the Barclays Premier League as Chelsea returned to winning ways with a 2-0 victory over Hull Wayne Rooney and Steven Gerrard Diego Costa celebrates his goal Santi Cazorla scored twice in Arsenal's 4-1 victory over Newcastle